Praying for Love in a Lap Dance and Paying in Naivety
by dinorawr1550
Summary: What happens to Barricade after the lovely TimeStopperGirl's story A New Sparkbeat. Here is the link if you want to read before you start reading mine! She has two: /s/9106342/1/Kiss-Away-the-Demons-in-My-Dreams is the first one and /s/9315623/1/A-New-Sparkbeat is the second one!


**Alright guy! Here is the little plot bunny that has been running in my head! I hope you enjoy it :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, if so, Optimus would be mine. ALL MINE**

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Barricade didn't know what to think anymore. What to do anymore. What to feel anymore. All he knew now was that he felt hollow, depressed, and that he had lost his spark when he died. Gabby was the only one who had made him feel anything, but she belonged to Optimus. And after seeing the frightened look on her face when he appeared once more, he had run away in shame. Barricade didn't belong to the Autobots, and there was absolutely no way in hell he would ever belong to the Decepticons. He just sort of floated now, searching different parts of the world, just watching the human race. He once thought about offlining himself, but after his first try he ended up damaging himself severely, leaving himself nothing to do but sit around and mope. Now he was back in the United States, in some town called Chicago. In his travels, he learned how every city had their good and bad places alike, and he quickly learned that he preferred the bad. _Because this is where I belong_, he had thought, _where the 'dirt' of society lives_. He enjoyed the bright neon signs lining the streets he had all but memorized from his constant walking up and down them. That's where he was right now, slowly walking down the street in a simple black shirt and jeans. He ditched his police officer uniform along with his police decals on his car to blend in with the people here, they tended to not be very nervous if he wasn't in his police uniform. He looked at all the people behind his sunglasses as they went through the motions. He watched each sign pass, the bar that was run by an old lady with too much makeup and perfume, the 'restaurant' where the humans would get drugs from another, and then the- wait...that was new.

He looked at the bright neon side saying 'BURLESQUE' with the silhouette of a femme posed on top of it. He looked at the building wondering how he could NOT notice a sign like that on his usual stroll then remembered that the sign was there just not lit up like it was now. He remembered the women standing by the building in questionable clothing calling him sexy and making very personal inquiries. That's when he also realized there were none of those women by the building or the light pole they occasionally stood by. His optics stared more carefully at the building, memorizing the outside just like he had with every other building when he saw something else he hadn't noticed before. He saw, leaning against the side of the building, a human female. In this light he couldn't see her very well, but his processors did speed up when he saw her lithe frame and he was instantly intrigued. She didn't act like the other ladies who were constantly moving, fixing themselves up or talking...she was simply leaning against the building and looking up at the sky. Maybe she wasn't a part of this 'burlesque'? He took a step forward to get closer to her when a door by the stairs opened and someone beckoned her into the building. He sighed as she slipped through the door and into the building. He knew that his processors would go mad if he didn't follow. And besides, he would have to check out this establishment just like he did all the others. It was only fair.

The building wasn't like any of the others on his favorite street. Everything everywhere was red, there were sparkles at every turn, and he was picking up a very strong scent that he did not like. There was a bar to the left of the entrance and to the right was a large stage where a femme (or was that a mech?) was singing something obnoxiously loud and completely annoying. Normally, under such circumstances, he would have left immediately, but for some unknown reason he sat down in a corner and ordered a 'beer' from a woman with entirely too much makeup on. The alcohol wouldn't affect him whatsoever, but it would help him fit in. The mech/femme left the stage (thankfully) and an older woman wearing vibrant colors on her eyelids took her place. With a big cheesy grin, she spoke into the microphone, "Thank you so much Misses Sparkle! Now we have our crown jewel for your enjoyment. Please welcome to the stage, the sexy Esmeralda!" With that the boys went wild as the lights dimmed further and a spotlight appeared on the silver, shining wall. Music started and he stared at the silver wall as it shifted from...a leg slipping through it. Men whooped and hollered as the thin leg with some kind of black 'sock' on it extended itself out then disappeared back into the silver stream when the music silenced, then once it started up again a thin arm came out with a black 'glove' on it making the hollers fill the room once more. The music paused again and then it started up louder and faster; with that the silver wall moved to reveal...oh my Primus! It was the girl from outside! The lithe girl walked out swaying her hips and his processors froze. She wore a deep, rich green dress that was clung to her skin excepting the fringe that revealed the skin of her upper thighs, making his holoform blush. Her hair was a deep red and seemed to be in 'curls' and just like everyone else here her makeup was too much. His eyes stayed glued to the femme as she slowly peeled off one of the gloves and tossed it into the crowd of boys with the other glove quickly following. Her cherry-colored hair swished behind her as she shimmied her skirt off walking towards the silver wall again. The boys were hooping and hollering as she fluttered her eyes and smiled at them. A strong emotion to swirled in the pit of his stomach...jealousy? _Not again,_ Barricade groaned inwardly. He shook his head and took a sip at the beer, watching her disappear behind the fluttering silver wall, only to reappear a few seconds later, slowly discarding a strap from her dress which could only mean...oh Primus, she was going to take her clothes off! His processors were in a frenzy, but his eyes remained glued on her as her dress was slowly peeled off. But before she revealed anything that the dress had been hiding, she disappeared behind the wall leaving all of the men booing in unison. The cheering resumed, however, when the dress was tossed through the silver wall. The wall was moved once more and Esmeralda walked through it in nothing but her 'underwear'. Barricade was astonished at how confident she looked dancing in what most femmes would blush and cower at, she just danced around the boys visiting tables, winking and flirting. He hoped she wouldn't come his way- or did he hope she would? Anyhow, his holoform's stomach dropped as she made her way toward him backwards before spinning around and grabbing his table, swooping her hair and….she froze. His red and mud brown eyes met her bright green ones and he swore his spark jerked. She blinked once or twice then she winked at him before spinning back around and strutting over to the stage where she winked and smiled a little more and disappeared behind the silver wall once more. He stared at the wall ignoring the colorful-lidded woman with the cheesy smile as she made her way to the stage once more. Barricade had only one thought in his mind: He had to talk to Esmeralda.

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**Dun dun duuunnn! Haha tell me watcha think guys; it helps me write faster! Reviews are really appreciated! Even if they're not bunnies and sunshine!**


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